Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 954: The Special List

Far more people than expected were watching Adamʼs fight.

Risha, Glen, or especially Silvana had nothing to do with it. They were spending all their effort to survive the situation.

After all, there was no telling what would have happened had Adam not opened the third lesser gate in the middle of the battle. Maybe he would use his past artifact and the Power Gene to achieve victory, or maybe it wouldnʼt be enough.

It was important not only to Adam, Risha, and their Phantoms, but also to Misa, who was watching them all the time, and not just her.

Silvana knew that Misa saw everything, she relied on Misaʼs experience and help, but Silvana didnʼt know that Misa was secretly transmitting everything to Orel. She could easily do that because Silvana was now working at Misaʼs computer, her workspace was her realm.

Misa could just sit next to Silvana, and Orel would see everything through shared sight. Silvana would hardly resent it if Orel was with them, but he left because of some important business of his own. At least that was what he told everyone, even Risha was unaware of his plans.

Crunch.

The chocolate chip cookie broke in two, half of it left clutched between Orelʼs fingers, his gaze lifted to the video floating above the massive round table.

At that moment, Adam jumped high up, unleashing the power of his Foundation Artifact upon the Inferno Serpent.

”Damn! Now thatʼs what I mean by power!”

Oddly enough, it wasnʼt Orel who said this, he remained silent, scrutinizing Adamʼs every move.

”Stop yelling at his every attack. Itʼs a K3-Phantom fighting, not our boss,” the woman waved her hand irritably, a number - ʼ3ʼ carved on the table in front of her.

”Hahaha! Lorana, you know Iʼm emotional! And, I love to see that there are such hopeful young men among the young Phantoms!” The man laughed, pouring a full can of beer into his mouth. On his part of the table was a number - ʼ2ʼ.

Lorana looked away, she was only here because Orel had invited her. ”Tsk, Hygon, you annoy me, always have. Itʼs just an ordinary Phantom. Yeah, heʼs a little better than the others, but nothing special.”

Hygon was ready to reply in his bright and active manner, but Orelʼs low, calm voice took all their attention away.

”Lorana, Hygon, itʼs not just a Phantom, itʼs a Light Phantom from the Upper Ring. Whatʼs more, itʼs Adam Vinter, Wilfred himself was once in contact with him.”

Lorana waved her hand, shaking off the ash before bringing the cigarette to her lips. ”Yeah, we know that. However, we still donʼt understand why you decided to help him.”

Watching Adamʼs heavy breathing, Orelʼs eyes grew deeper. ”Because he has potential. No one will let him into the Black Swan now, itʼs only possible with the help of someone from the remaining three beasts. As you realize, we are one of them.”

Hygon crossed his powerful arms over his chest, looking at Orel with a dumbfounded expression.

”And...? What good is K3-Phantom to us? Each of us can crush it like a bug. The other captains of the Four Beasts and even more so our heads can do the same.”

”Yeah...” Orel tossed half a cookie into his mouth. ”But weʼre lucky my hyper-active sister stumbled upon him first. Either we help him, or the White Tigers or the Green Dragon will take care of it. I had some time, and I found some information about Adam Vinter quite valuable.”

Lorana and Hygon looked at each other. They had rarely seen the first captain, Orel, take such an interest in anyone.

”Back when he was a K0-Phantom, some people from the government and among the military noticed him and were keeping tabs on him. Whatʼs more, even Damien himself helped him out a few times, whether it was a mission, rescue, or training.”

Unimpressed, Lorana sipped wine from her glass. ”And? Damien is not an ancient god but a human, though... his power is closer to the former than the latter. He finds favorites all the time, heʼs good at seeing potential in people, like the rest of us.”

Hygon nodded deeply. ”Yeah, I agree with her. Seeing talent isnʼt hard, especially when you have great power.”

Despite their words, Orel did not give up his stance.

”Talent?” Orel muttered, watching as Adam approached the Inferno Serpent. ”Anyone who has reached a K3-Level can be considered a talented Phantom. Given how many K4-Phantoms there are out of the total number of Phantoms, it wouldnʼt be an exaggeration to call us all geniuses.”

Hygon raised an eyebrow. He had never really thought about it, numbers and cunning plans were not his strong side. For solving problems or arguments, he had his fists - his most reliable weapon.

”However, the people at the very top are convinced that Adam has the opportunity to become one of the Second Rank Phantoms.”

Despite their respect for Orel, Hygon, and Lorana did not gasp at his every word and criticized him freely. After all, they were equals, captains of the Red Bears.

But, as soon as he mentioned the Second Rank Phantoms, their facial expressions froze.

”What...? Are you sure...?” Lorana gulped in disbelief. ”Weʼve been stuck at the K4-Level for years now... Weʼre one of the strongest at the Lower Ring, and in the entire Citadel, like you said, there are very few K4-Phantoms. But we donʼt know if weʼll ever be able to reach that level...”

”Yeah...” Hygon sighed heavily. ”I would easily go from K0 to K4 ten times, but achieving the Second Circle, itʼs beyond me.”

Orel waved his hand. ”Nevertheless, it is. He is on the list, as are several other young Phantoms. Perhaps one of them can succeed. As far as I know, high-ranking people in the government decided to add him to the list after the incident at Heaven Island.

”And...”

Orel bit his finger, following Adam and the Inferno Serpentʼs conversation.

”The fact that Aiden Henk is interested in him speaks volumes as well. Whatʼs going on in that bastardʼs mind scares even Wilfred...”